diagnosing (likely) hardware fault on MBP 15'' (early 2011)

Question

Today while I was routinely using my Macbook Pro 15" from early 2011 (model MacBookPro8,2), running Mavericks DP3, the screen suddenly went all glitchy and distorted and the system locked up. (I just mentioned the OS for the sake of completeness; I have a strong feeling that it's a hardware problem and has nothing to do with the OS.)

After forcing a reboot, I got the gray screen with the Apple logo and the spinner - except the display wasn't quite right: the entire screen was distorted by narrow white horizontal lines running across it. After a while the screen would transition to a purely gray one and the system would be nonresponsive (without ever having reached the login screen). After rebooting several times with the same result, I tried the different startup key sequences. I was able to reach single user mode (CMD + S) where I did fsck and the hard disk seemed to be OK. (FWIW, in text mode, the screen appeared normal.) exiting after the HD check didn't do any good though, and the system hung up again.

In the end what appeared to help was pressing the Shift + Control + Option + Power Button key combination (related to resetting the SMC) on the aforementioned pure gray screen, which would cause the system to instantly switch off. (Note that I did it while my system was already running, even though the procedure outlined by Apple requires that it be done while the computer is off.)

Upon turning on the laptop, the screen looked normal again, and the system booted as usual and I was able to log in. I was able to use my laptop normally for a couple of hours when suddenly the screen went completely red as I watching a video online. Force rebooting led to the same problems again, and I was able to "fix" it again, same as before - except this time round it only worked for a few minutes before the problem recurred (this time initiated by the screen turning a pure blue).

Since then I've only been able to use the system for a few minutes before the problem reoccurs.

Question is, how do I go about diagnosing the problem? (I suspect it might be a problem with the GPU or RAM.)

I couldn't get into Apple Hardware Test (AHT) even though I tried pressing D during startup. Apparently it's not there for systems running OS X 10.8.4 and above (I read that in one of the Apple docs although I don't have a reference to it this instant.)

Any help would be appreciated.

Edit: I should mention that the fix (i.e. the keyboard combination) doesn't always work the first time. I don't really know if pressing that particular combination actually helps at all - maybe it just randomly works after "turning it off and on again".

Update: I think the problem is related to the discrete graphics card (The AMD Radeon HD 6750M). I installed a free utility called gfxCardStatus that lets you know whether whether the integrated or discrete graphics chip is being used, and also lets you manually set it to one or the other. As soon as I set it to the discrete chip, the screen when all blue and liney on me, and after I force-rebooted I got all the symptoms of my problem.

The great thing about this little utility is that it lets me disable dynamic switching of the graphics chips and set the graphics to use the integrated chip. This means that my laptop should at least be usable until I'm able to get it fixed.

I'll be Googling on this issue later when I have time - a quick search showed that other people with the same MBP model as mine have also reported problems - but I'm still looking forward to suggestions here. Thanks!

Update 2: I think I was a bit hasty in pinning down the fault on the discrete graphics card. As I just found out, the problem can also be triggered when switching to the integrated graphics card, or may not be triggered at all by switching - I was able to switch between integrated and discrete without problems one time. I guess that the most that can be said right now is that the problem is with something in the graphics subsystem, and that it is possibly triggered by the switching from discrete to integrated graphics and vice versa.

Update 22nd Aug, 2013:

I took my MBP to an authorized service center where I live currently (in the Middle East) and they diagnosed the GPU as faulty, which is what I (and others here) had suspected. They said they would have to replace the logic board, which would cost the equivalent of over $1000 US. Doesn't seem to be worth it as I can buy an 11" version of the latest MacBook Air for slightly more.

Unfortunately, I'm no longer able to successfully apply my previous "trick" of force rebooting several times until the display comes up normal; it doesn't work anymore, after trying dozens and dozens of times. I just get the start-up chime, with the faulty display, followed by a blank gray screen.

If I boot up in Single User Mode (Command + S), the display begins to run normally, which I suppose is because it uses the integrated graphics card (just my guess). But that's the best I can manage; I'm no longer successful in getting it to boot so I can force the integrated card to be used (via the gfxCardStatus app).

Answer 1

Get the original DVD of your MacBook Pro, and boot it with the D key pressed. This will fire the Apple Hardware Test.

If you can have an hand on your system for enough time, open it to a remote access from another computer on your network (Ethernet or Wireless):

System Preferences > Sharing

enable:

Screen Sharing

Next time your display doesn't let you talk to your MacBook Pro, try to access it from your other computer and check that your MacBook Pro is up and running (this is my blind bet, please confirm ☺).

If it is running,

• don't any more use the ^ ctrl⇧ shift⌥ alt while powering it off when your OS is up and running
• rather make it remotely shutdown, wait 15 seconds, and then apply the above 4 simultaneous button press to reset the SMC.

Answer 2

Apple has launched MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues which can be found here

Apple has determined that a small percentage of MacBook Pro systems may exhibit distorted video, no video, or unexpected system restarts. These MacBook Pro systems were sold between February 2011 and December 2013.

Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider will repair affected MacBook Pro systems, free of charge.

Answer 3

Since your problem is intermittent! = Graphics card switching.

There is a little program called ColorSync Utility in your Utility folder.

Try it and use the Profile First Aid.

Also check if you have the suggested Firmware update here.

Computers that can be upgraded to use OS X Internet Recovery.

With new information (you narrowed it down to one of the graphics cards), now I wonder if it is your Mavericks not doing a good job in Graphics switching. I would in any case update the driver for the AMD graphics card.

Answer 4

I've been subjected to the same annoying problem with my MBP 15, running mavericks (newly updated)... and it seems the problem is Overheating in the HDD, and the only quick solution is to make the HDD get corrupt by itself with the peak heat it can reach after some time(NOT SAFE AT ALL), and to reboot (not the key combination which even I believed of). The heat actually spreads like a wildfire through the logic board... as Aky was living in Middle East, which is a hot place similar to my hot afternoon crashes,

I think I've got the solution... First, take care of the top left bottom corner of your MBP to not get hot... Or for a permanent help, replace your HDD with a SDD. pretty cheap than replacing logic board right?...

try this tip...

Answer 5

thi bis a very common issue amongst Macbook Pros late 2010, mainly early 2011 but also on occasional late 2011 MBP's. I believe it marks the start of Apple trying out new lead-free solder (is it the right term) causing quite an array of problems. the 6750M and another AMD card are often disabled. I also suffer from the WiFi card not working for the same reason. on another note the DVD player doesn't work either. It worked fine to get rid of drivers for the AMD discrete card in Mountain Lion, but then I made the error of installing Mavericks. The routines seem to have changed, so now I'm stuck with a computer that's pretty much disabled. Unfortunately Gfx Card Status seems to think I've got a second screen attached (this automatically activates the faulty 6750M discrete card). this prevents me from disabling the discrete graphics card. In system prefs you can sometimes disable the internal graphics card but not the "high performance" discrete one (energy saving prefs). I'm still to find a method to disable it.

There should be a way but my computer abilities are rudimentary, and scouring the web for solutions hasn't turned up more than endless testimonials without real solutions. If you strike gold finding a way to disable the discrete AMD 6750 on Mavericks I'd be ever so thankful to take part of it. [email protected] is my email address. There is a resoldering technique that could be of help (since the solder seems to be the cause for the most being) but that could of course push your computer over the edge completely. still, that's the best options I have left at this point. Sorry for not being able to be of more assistance! best of luck /Erik

Answer 6

There's a whole website and even a class-action lawsuit about this issue here:

• https://people.cam.cornell.edu/~zc227/extras/early2011mbp_graphics.html

Answer 7

See edit1:

This issue may happen on a faulty battery. My macbook complained for a long time to change the battery, it was almost death, but I tried to get the most of it. After one year, maybe longer, I got the same behavior as explained in the main question. I tried all kind of startup keys and at first I thought that was the solution because after trying so many times I could boot again successfully, but after a while it happened again. The laptop was getting very hot when not plugged to the current, this was freezing the macbook, sometimes i got the blue lines, other times it just got frozen and I could only hold the power button to reboot.

After some trial-error i realized the problem was happening because of a low voltage in the logic board. When plugged to the current everything worked like a charm, so next step for me is to get a battery replacement.

Hope this helps, cheers !

Edit 1:

After receiving the new battery the issue persists. Then i found this link https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro..., apparently there is a known video issue for 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models manufactured in 2011 and 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina models manufactured from Mid 2012 to Early 2013.

You can check in the link if your macbook is under the repair extension program and they would fix it for free. Mine does.